Little Red Riding Hood

In The Classic Fairy Tales edited by Maria Tatar the variations of the popular story, “Little Red Riding Hood” are astounding. They ranged from “G” rated to almost “Adult Only” content, changing the whole purpose of the story.
The most shocking variation was told by Louis and François Briffault in 1885. Titled “The Story of Grandmother”, the wolf mercilessly kills the grandmother, placing some of her flesh in the pantry and a bottle of her blood on the shelf. When the girl arrives, she eats the meat and drinks the “wine” at the wolf’s urging. A cat in the room says, “You’re a slut if you eat the flesh and drink the blood of granny.” The wolf then orders the girl to undress and climb into bed with him. After realizing the true identity of the wolf, the girl convinces him to let her go outside to urinate. He ties a rope around leg, which she ties to a plum tree once outside. The wolf begins to question the girl about her bodily functions, then realizes that the girl escaped. This story would be horrifying to a young child of modern times.
Charles Perrault’s “Little Red Riding Hood” ends with both the grandmother and girl eaten by the wolf, however the story outlines moral objectives:
     1) Little girls should not listen to just anyone.
     2) Don’t talk to wolves, even the nice ones, because they are the most dangerous.

The Brothers Grimm tell the story of “Little Red Cap” which chronicles the origin of the girl’s red cap and provides an alternate ending to the story. The first piece has the girl become preoccupied with the wildflowers, allowing the wolf to beat her to grandmother’s. The wolf eats both of them, then falls asleep. A hunter hears the loud snoring and enters to investigate. He cuts the wolf’s stomach open, saving the grandmother and girl. The second story has the girl going directly to grandmother’s, telling her of the wolf, then locking the door behind them. The wolf tries to get in, but ends up drowning in the trough filled with sausage water.
The most comical rendition was James Thurber’s “The Little Girl and the Wolf”. The girl immediately realizes that the figure in bed is not her grandmother, “for even in a nightcap a wolf does not look any more like your grandmother than the Metro-Goldwyn lion looks like Calvin Coolidge.” The girl shoots the wolf.
I enjoyed all the variations, but especially enjoyed the story as told by the Brothers Grimm. It provided back story into the hood, and gave two happy endings.